Camcorder for under £300

funkmaster_2

My limited education in this area tells me that I ideally want to buy a Mini DV Camcorder - I want to be able to film birthdays, holidays, days out etc and be able to burn them onto a DVD on my PC and/or play them directly onto the television.

I like the look of the Sony Handycam HC19 (£260-ish)

The advice I'm looking for is

1) whether there is another model/make around that price that I should be looking at

2) whether there are any good deals/clubcard points/advantage points/Easter deals around that I can take advantage of

3) what are the extras that I need to buy (case, tapes, batteries etc) and whether I can get those any cheaper anywhere (are there any offers around)

Thanks in advance!

Ian73

Hi
Have a look in the Camcorder Mags...read the reviews etc...there is loads of choice so make sure you get one with the functions/features YOU need.My G/F's dad is looking for a cheapish one at the mo & the Panasonics seem to get good reviews for the money.
http://www.rgbdirect.co.uk/ is a site recommended in one mag i read...

Best of luck


Ian

falcon21

Do you want to edit them? If so, what PC/computer do you have and (most importantly) does it have a firewire (aka IEEE 1394) socket?
(Most new computers do).

If you are looking to edit them you definitely want Firewire Out on the Camcorder and Firewire In/Out might be useful later if you get more into movie making.

A few more points to remember:

-Optical zoom is better than digital zoom
-lcd screens are useful, but don't get hung up about getting a massive one (2.5" is fine for even the blindest).
-manufacturers like to compete on chip size, but one of the most important aspects is having a *quality* lens.

I'm myself am looking for a cheap camcorder around this mark with firewire in.out and will get back to you if I find anything good.

Daniel

funkmaster_2

What does a IEEE 1394 socket look like? I have USBx2 and one for a MIC and headphones on the front and some at the back - what should I be looking out for?

My PC is about a year old.

SamC_4

I recommend the Canon UK Ebay outlet shop. It sells refurb camcorders very cheaply. It looks like you should be able to get one of the MV700 range for under £150. Although they are refurbs they come with a full 12 month warranty. I had occasion to use this recently on one of their products and the Canon repair centre turned it around in under a week and returned it with the problem fully fixed at no charge.

Ebay is also pretty good for third-party clone camcorder batteries. They are usually shipped from Hong Kong suppliers so make sure you compare prices including postage when looking for the best deal.

7dayshop are pretty good for tapes.

There are pictures of firewire (IEEE 1394) connectors here.

funkmaster_2

Hi Sam - thanks for the links

I have just bought a Canon MV750i for the Canon Ebay Shop (total coincidence!) and paid £189.98 after the vat & shipping which I'm pleased about. Yes, it's a refurb but I'm happy with that - I don't think this camera is for life! It seems as if I don't have a firewire socket on my PC but I understand I can transfer via USB. I'll take your advice on getting my tapes & batteries.

falcon - thanks for the guidance

The reviews of the MV750i are at Pricerunner

The Amazon page to look at it (no longer available to buy though them though) is here - the reviews on there made my mind up for me.

It has DV in and out, 22 x optical zoom and 2.5'' colour LCD

Usual price is £300+ so at under £200 (which seems to be a regular enough price buying through the Canon Ebay shop) I'm chuffed.

(You'll probably find me on the Rant board next month if it isn't great though! LOL)

SamC_4

funkmaster wrote:

(NB - how do I make the links like your Sam???)

You have to manually bold and underline them with the toolbar buttons in the message editor, otherwise they come out looking all feeble.

funkmaster_2

Cheers for that - edited the links